Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 following a period of civil war and the collapse of Somalia’s government. Although the country remains internationally unrecognised, it has established a working democracy, government institutions, a police force and its own currency, becoming a beacon of peace in a volatile region.

In November 2012 I was commissioned to photograph the local council elections. From a base in the lively capital, Hargeisa, where construction abounds and new businesses are opening daily, I travelled to the relaxed port town of Berbera and to Somaliland’s second largest city, Burao, to get a flavour of life in the region and the impact of the elections.